Listings up across state as people move to SEQ

Felicity Moore

14/06/2017

THE house market has rebounded from a period of low listings with a surge of stock, in some markets as much as 100 per cent more in the March quarter, according to the REIQ’s March Quarter Queensland Market Monitor.

REIQ CEO Antonia Mercorella said that agents have welcomed the additional activity as homeowners once again put their faith in the housing market.

“It was quite lean towards the end of the year last year and we knew that agents were struggling to get enough stock for buyers in the really popular price points of most markets,” she said.

More broadly, Queensland continues to run a two-speed housing market, with regional Queensland facing continued challenges north of the Sunshine Coast – with the exception of Cairns, which is performing well – while the southeast corner exhibits steady, sustainable growth.

Looking at southeast areas where the market is performing well, the Gold Coast and Sunshine Coast were the two strongest performing markets in Queensland again this quarter, outperforming Brisbane (as they did last quarter).

“The Gold Coast has benefited from the investment delivered for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and this has significantly improved the infrastructure in the region, transforming it into an international hub,” Ms Mercorella said.

The Sunshine Coast continues to grow and, along with the Gold Coast, these centres formed the top two most popular migration destinations for people moving within Australia in 2016. More than 12,000 people moved to these two coastal destinations (excluding overseas immigration) last year, according to ABS data.

Noosa was the top annual median house performer with an annual growth of 9.2 per cent compared with March 2016. This has positioned Noosa as the second-most expensive house market with an annual median sale price of $615,000.

Ipswich is the most affordable market in Greater Brisbane with an annual median sale price below $350,000.

The housing market in Fraser Coast, Bundaberg and Cairns held steady for the 12 months to March 2017. Toowoomba reported a minor reduction of 0.8 per cent on the annual median house price for the past year.

Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton and Townsville reported a large contraction in the annual median house price for the past five years. These regions have suffered the largest negative impact from the mining downturn and remain very affordable with the March median sale price for these regions fluctuating between $260,000 and $330,000.

Gladstone experienced the largest fall in the median sale price for the quarter of 11.6 per cent, to reach a March median sale price of $271,500. This positioned Gladstone as the second-most affordable market amongst the local government areas analysed in the Queensland Market Monitor.

Amongst the largest LGAs in Queensland, Rockhampton has become the most affordable house market with an annual median sale price of $270,000 and a March quarterly median sale price of $260,000.

“Overall, the March quarter has started 2017 off reasonably steady in most markets with consistent if somewhat moderate growth in both the house and unit markets.

“Our hope is that the recovering coal price will give the Queensland economy a much-needed boost and that the Government’s recently announced infrastructure and jobs programs succeed in creating jobs for Queenslanders that will help them gain secure and affordable housing,” Ms Mercorella said.